Thursday, February 25, 2016

To think I almost didn't attend this event... I would have missed out on one of the best beer industry-related nights I've had in a long time.

I arrived at Revolution Hall right at the official start of the event at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23, 2016. The first people I bumped into were John Harris (Ecliptic) and Abram Goldman-Armstrong (Cider Riot). A good omen for sure. As I was getting in line to enter the building I was joined by Hilda Stevens (Bazi Bierbrasserie), her boyfriend Darrell Heard, and graphic designer Jennifer Ulrich. At the admissions table, my dear friend Steven Shomler stamped my hand. I barely made it to the first floor before spotting Jenn McPoland and Jeremie Landers.

The entire evening was like this. Everyone who is everyone in Oregon beer was there. I rarely made it more than a few feet in any direction without being greeted by someone I know, and many of them are people I don't get to see very often. The atmosphere was jovial, expectant, celebratory. It was a rare excuse to dress up for a beer event and plenty of us took advantage of the opportunity.

I had already made plans to meet up with Oregon Beer Growler editor Andi Prewitt and her boyfriend Jeff Myers, who would not arrive for another hour. As the hall space outside the auditorium was rapidly filling, I got in line for my complimentary beer. I opted for the Logsdon Peche 'n Brett, rightly suspecting that it would be one of the first beers to run out. My friends Lisa Marcus, Eric Sterling, and new-hire Heather Kelez from Digital Pour, a sponsor of the event, were keeping an eye on their huge flat-screen dashboard stationed next to the jockey boxes.

After catching up on business, I wrangled Lisa into an exploratory walk around the venue. We'd only get so far before I saw someone I know, but it was fun making introductions. I noticed the HappyMatic photo booth didn't have a line, so we grabbed some silly props and posed for our free photos. We also finally discovered the food area, which was packed, but couldn't manage to snag our free sandwiches. This is my only gripe about the event; the food distribution could have been handled much better with a line and ticket set-up just like the beer.

As Black Lodge filled the auditorium with live music, I chatted with my Culmination Brewing friends Tony and Julky Lenoci. Soon, everyone was filing in for the start of the awards ceremony. As planned, I sat with Andi and Jeff, and also was joined by Charles Porter and Brenda Crow. We were directly in front of the Culmination gang, which was perfect.

I was already having a blast, but the icing on the cake was still to come. First, a little background: I met Tomas Sluiter at a Beverage Industry Networking Group (B.I.N.G.) meeting in June 2014. He was in the throes of trying to establish his own brewery here in Portland and had encountered many unforeseen challenges. As a relatively new writer for the Oregon Beer Growler, I was always eager to get the scoop on budding projects. I promised to stay in touch with Tomas and keep tabs on the forthcoming brewery.

Over the next few months Culmination Brewing finally came to fruition. The soft opening at the new taproom at 2117 NE Oregon St was on January 17, 2015 followed by the grand opening on June 19, 2015. While I wasn't able to be part of many of those first days due to my other work responsibilities, I did start doing some freelance writing work for Tomas at Brewery Consultant Group last June. I also made an effort to volunteer at all of Culmination's big events and have even covered a bartending shift in the taproom from time to time. Thus, over the past year, the core group of people that work at Culmination have become an integral part of life.

So my reaction when Ezra Johnson-Greenough announced that Culmination Brewing had won the award for Best New Brewery was tears of joy for my hard-working, super-talented friends. I managed to capture the whole thing on video with my iPhone. Please forgive the shaky start; I promise it gets better when they get to the stage.

Soon after, the awards ceremony wrapped up, and all that was left to do was celebrate. We couldn't think of anything better than to go back to where it all began, at the brewery, where we raised our glasses time and again to Tomas, April, and all of the Culmination crew.

Thanks to all of the people and businesses who made the Oregon Beer Awards possible. And a special thank you to all of the Oregon breweries who make fantastic beer!

Saturday, February 20, 2016

On Wednesday night, I had the great fortune to attend the media preview for the 2nd Annual Brewstillery Festival. Hosted by Stormbreaker Brewing in North Portland, this unique event takes place on Saturday, February 27 from 12:00 - 8:00 p.m. and offers 27 pairings from Oregon-based breweries and distilleries.

In addition to being treated to samples of some of Stormbreaker’s delicious new food menu items, including house-made chicken liver mousse and country pate, Olympia Provisions chorizo and cacciatore, fresh cheeses, pickled veggies and more, this intrepid writer also got to taste eight of the carefully-crafted beer and spirit pairings.

If you’ve ever tried a barrel-aged imperial stout, e.g. Crux Fermentation Project’s Tough Love, you know how well the flavors of Kentucky bourbon mingle with spicy roasted malt and smooth vanilla. Many breweries now age beers in used wine barrels as well as many other spirit barrels like gin and rum. But have you ever considered pairing say, a Peanut Butter Porter with Hazelnut Espresso Vodka? Either mixed together or served side by side, Wild Ride Brewing’s excellent, nutty beer goes perfectly with Crater Lake Spirit’s sweet and sophisticated dessert vodka, both out of Central Oregon. No barrel aging needed!

Brewers and distillers were on hand at the media preview event to present their pairings and explain how they settled on each particular beer and spirit combination. Josh Grgas, Brand Manager at The Commons Brewery in Portland, leveraged his previous experience working with Stone Barn Brandyworks to develop their pairing of Pumpernickel Rye Saison with Nocino, a liqueur made from unripe green walnuts which are soaked in rye whiskey and pinot noir brandy along with vanilla, cloves and other spices. As Stone Barn posted on their website: “The richness of our Nocino is a great match with the tartness of The Common’s farmhouse yeast, and the spice profiles of each beverage pair together beautifully.”

You can look forward to all 27 unique pairings, including the above-mentioned deliciousness, as well as a wheat beer made with pears (Coaltion’s Bosc Mode) paired with a ginger liqueur from New Deal; an imperial stout (Double Mountain’s Moon Patrol) paired with absinthe from Hood River Distillers; and a saison (Breakside’s Belly Laugh) paired with a white tea and rose petal spirit from Thomas & Sons Distillery.